17:19a
For them: This phrase means “And for the benefit of my disciples.” Jesus was dedicating himself to God to serve and save his disciples.
I sanctify Myself: This clause means “I dedicate myself to God.” Jesus was saying that he dedicated himself to God for his disciples. In this context, that means that he dedicated himself as a sacrifice (see Deut. 15:19), ready to die. It can also mean that he dedicates himself as a prophet or priest (see Ex. 28:41). That is more the idea in 17:19b where the disciples would be sanctified. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
I have given myself completely for their sake (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
For their sake, I am making myself ready to serve (New Century Version)
17:19b
so that they too may be sanctified by the truth: The connector so that introduces the purpose of Jesus sanctifying himself. He dedicated himself to God so that the disciples might also be dedicated to God. The way you translate sanctified here should be similar to how you translated “sanctify” in 17:19a. For example:
so that they may be given completely ⌊to God⌋ by the truth
-or-
so that they can be made ready for their service by the truth
sanctified by the truth: There are two ways to understand the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as sanctified by the truth
(1) It means “sanctified by means of the truth,” as in 17:17a. For example:
made holy by your truth (New Living Translation (2004))
(Berean Standard Bible, King James Version, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004))
(2) It means “truly dedicated to God.” Without Jesus’ atoning work on the cross, the disciples would not be suitable to be dedicated to God. For example:
truly sanctified (New International Version)
(New International Version, NET Bible, Good News Translation)
Several translations translate this phrase literally as “sanctified/dedicated in truth” and can be understood either way: New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and English Standard Version.
It is recommended that if possible you translate this phrase literally in a way that can be understood either way. If that is not possible, you may want to follow option (1) or your national or major-language translation.
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